Railway bridge plate



July 28,1925. 1,547,952

J. T. o'NElLL RAILWAY BRIDGE PLATE Fued uarcn v. 1925- Gnoien,

. the bridge plate,

Y tween the ties beneath the rails.

Patented July 28, 1925-.

- UNITED STAT-ns JOHN T. o'NEILL, :or y.'rnNxmfrowN, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILWAY BRIDGE PLATE.

Application mea Marcar, 1925.' serial N. 13,761.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN T. ONEILL, a

citizen of the United States, 4residing. at

Jenkintown, in the countyvof Montgomery and State of Pennsylvania, have .invented certain new and useful improvements in Railway Bridge Flates; andI do hereby der clare the following to be a full, clear', and exact description ofv the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same.

Thisv invention relates torailway bridge plates, and has for one of yits objects the provision of a novel,simple and'inexpensiveJV device of this character which shall be adapted to reinforce a rail joint and pre illustrated in the accompanying drawing,- wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective View illustrating the application of a railway bridge plate constructed in accordance with my invention Figure 2"is a detail perspective view of Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the bridge plate, the plate being shown in position upon a pair'of ties, and

Figure 4 is a view in end elevation of the bridge plate.

.Corresponding and like parts are referred to 1 in i the following description, andv ldesignated in the several views of the accompanying drawing, by similar reference characters.

1n the drawing 1 designates a pair'.` of alined railway rails and 2 a pair of the supporting ties therefor. The adjacent ends of the railsv 1 are shown as-meeting between the ties 2' and secured together by angle barsS. f

ln order to support and thus strengthen the joint of the rails 1 and to prevent the rails from creeping or spreading, I provide an elongated flat plate 4 which rests upon the ties 2 and extends across the spae bet its longitudinal or side edges, the plate 4 provided with'upstanding flanges 5 which contact withthe lower outer edges of the angle bars 3. The plate 4 is provided with a plurality of openings 6 adapted to receive spikes 7 :which contact with the angle bars 3 Vandl enter the ties 2. At a point centrally between its ends, the plate 4 is provided with an upwardly directed and transversely extending rib 8 which occupies a position between the adjacent ends of the rails 1 and the ends of which are spaced inwardly from the iianges 5. A pair of angle bars 9 presenting horizontal members 10 and vertical members 11 are secured to the under side of the plate 4 with the vertical members in abutting relation.v Rivets 12 which engage the vertical members 11 and the plate 4 secure the angle bars 9 in place. The vertical members 11 of the angle bars'9 are Vlocated at the longitudinal center of the plate 4, and the angle bars are shorter than the plate. The ends of the angle bars 9 are spaced for an equal distance from the ends of the plate 4.

The ends of the angle bars 9 contact withV rails 1 from having anyk casual movement with respect tothe plate 4in anv endwise direction, and the flanges 5 prevent the rails 1 from having any casual movement with respect tothe plate4 inra lateral direction. The angle bars 9 strengthen and reinforce that portion of the plate 4 located between the ties 2.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it should be apparent` that the bridge plate is strong, that it vcannot have any casual movement with respect to the ties to which it is secured, that it will strengthen the joints of the rails, and that it will prevent the rails from creeping or spreading.

It should be understood that the drawing is merely illustrative and does not pretend to give exact proportions. Furthermore, the said drawing is illustrative of a preferred construction, it being my expectation that various changes and modifications may be made Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is Claimed is l. A bridge plate of elongated formation, said plate being provided at its side edges with upstanding flanges and at its center With an upstanding and transversely eX- tending rib having its ends spaced from the flanges.

2. A bridge plate provided with relatively spaced ytipstanding flanges and angle bars having vertical members depending from the under side of the plate.

3. A bridge plate having upstanding flanges and an upstanding rib, the rib be- JOHN T. ONEILL.

Witnesses:

FRANCES ONEILL, FRANK P. ODONNELL. 

